Category: Development

What’s next for the Philippines following the visit of Pope Francis?

January 19, 2015January 19, 2015 benign0 17 Comments

In my experience attending corporate training programs — specially those involving team dynamics and motivation approaches — I have always been impressed with the way the really good trainors are able to create a euphoric pumped-up vibe in the participants over the course of the session. The courses that are conducted away from the office…

Culture, Development, Religion, Society

Non-Baguio Resident Noemi Dado Muddles The Issues Behind SM Baguio Tree Cutting

January 18, 2015January 18, 2015 P. Farol 85 Comments

With all due respect to the people that are crying over the cutting of trees in SM Baguio’s property, I’d like to point out that they’re still unclear about what their “issue” is. To make it easier for them, let me ask them simple question in an attempt: Is the issue the loss of forest…

Development, Economy, Environment

Bullying and Offensive Stereotypes in Our Society

January 15, 2015 Grimwald 20 Comments

I once read an issue of Marvel’s Captain America and I saw a scene where the Red Skull (the villain of the piece) tries to justify the terrible atrocities he has committed over the years. He said something along the lines that “everyone secretly wants to bully and be bullied by others”. For those unfamiliar…

Culture, Development, Education, Media, Society

Facebook etiquette fail: Are Singaporeans getting fed up with Filipino guest workers?

January 14, 2015January 14, 2015 benign0 23 Comments

So while the French are stuck with 5 million Muslims, Singaporeans are stuck with almost 200,000 Filipinos. France, of course, has bigger problems. The Muslim population there is proportionately bigger at 7.5 percent of the population. Filipinos “guests” in Singapore, on the other hand, make up less than 4 percent. Many French Muslims are citizens….

Culture, Development, Economy, Education, Lifestyle, Society, Technology

Why do MMDA traffic officers need to wear diapers? They can just piss on Manila’s streets!

January 9, 2015 benign0 24 Comments

I don’t know what Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino was thinking when he issued — and, worse, publicised — a directive to his legions of “traffic enforcers” to wear adult diapers while on duty during the visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines this month. He said there would not be enough…

Civics, Culture, Development, Government, Lifestyle, Religion, Society

The #Philippines suffers from acute intellectual bankruptcy and a lack of common sense

January 5, 2015 benign0 28 Comments

[The following is a piece originally published in The Manila Bulletin on the 09th April 2000 and featured in Get Real Philippines on the same year. How many of the issues mentioned here remain the same unchanged ones today? Remember, this was written back in 2000.] * * * AN admired Filipino economist, based in…

Crime, Culture, Development, Economy, Government, Politics, Society

The #Philippines is a nation of starstruck ignoramuses

January 4, 2015January 4, 2015 benign0 928 Comments

[The following is an article by Star columnist Don Pedero published in The Philippine Star 29 October 2000 and also featured in Get Real Philippines on the same year.] * * * Last July 23, I wrote about Nasty (short for Anastacio), a balikbayan from Los Angeles, who, while vacationing in Manila, had nothing to…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Development, Education, Government, Lifestyle, Media, Politics, Society

The new Ten Commandments for the 21st Century announced!

December 22, 2014 benign0 81 Comments

A collaborative exercise organised by Silicon Valley technology entrepreneur Lex Bayer and Stanford University humanist chaplain John Figdor, authors of the book Atheist Mind, Humanist Heart has come up with a new set of Ten Commandments for the 21st Century. According to the “Winning Beliefs” page of the authors’ website, 13 judges selected the ten…

Civics, Culture, Development, Education, Politics, Religion, Society